The last redoubt of
Moorish culture in Spain, Granada is fabled for its exquisite palace-fortress, the
Alhambra, one of the earth’s
architectural wonders and the biggest surviving medieval Islamic palace in the world.
The Alhambra well symbolises
Granada’s story and
significance, having been brought to its peak of
elegance and
splendor in the 14th and 15th centuries when Granada was the flourishing capital of the
last Moorish kingdom on the
Iberian Peninsula.
Finally, in 1492, the
Christian Reconquest reached here too,
led by
Spain’s ‘Catholic Monarchs’, Isabel and Fernando, and bringing with it the
churches,
monasteries and other monuments that also contribute to the city’s beauty and atmosphere today.
From their medieval
heyday Granada and the Alhambra slipped into
centuries of decline, which only started to be reversed by the interest taken in them by 19th-century
Romantics such as American writer
Washington Irving, author of the celebrated
Tales of the Alhambra. The Romantics’ interest sparked early
tourism here.
Today tourism has grown to the extent that it is a
major bulwark of Granada’s economy. But the city is also very much a
cultural capital in its own right, with a
prestigious university, a large student population (including many foreign students studying Spanish) and a
buzzing entertainment and
nightlife scene.
This blending of
contrasts (ancient with young, traditional with creative, Christian with Islamic, narrow, dark, secretive streets with expansive, open vistas) weaves a
unique magic that makes Granada quite unlike any other city in Spain, or indeed on the planet.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Spain Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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